In an interview with Tim Russert on MSNBC (transcript here), legendary consumer advocate Ralph Nader -- who had been fervently opposed Clinton, hopeful about Obama, and warm to John Edward's aborted candidacy -- announced he will enter the ring, running for president as an Independent:. . . you have to ask yourself, as a citizen, should we elaborate the issues that the two are not talking about? And the--all, all the candidates--McCain, Obama and Clinton--are against single payer health insurance, full Medicare for all. I'm for it, as well as millions of Americans and 59 percent of physicians in a forthcoming poll this April. People don't like Pentagon waste, a bloated military budget, all the reports in the press and in the GAO reports. A wasteful defense is a weak defense. It takes away taxpayer money that can go to the necessities of the American people. That's off the table to Obama and Clinton and McCain.These are valid points. I blogged (here) about how I wish Obama would stand for more substantive "change," something bold. Nader's problem will be very much the problem that doomed Edwards' candidacy: the media will tend to ignore him, making it difficult for him to get his message across.
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Note: Ralph Nader for President website. I wrote more about Ralph Nader recently in this post.
I hate to say it, but I think he's ignored because most Americans find his agenda tired, unappealing and thirty years out of date.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that Ralph Nader played an important role in putting
ReplyDeleteGeorge Bush in the White House. Way to go Ralph! Good work! Now you
want to impeach Bush? You helped put him there bucko.
Ralph's candidacy only serves Ralph Nader and his giant ego.